


Christmas Dreams

by Rakuyou_Tenshi (Citrus_Luver)



Series: Domestic Fluff [4]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Christmas, Community: space_wrapped, Domestic Fluff, Kid Fic, Light Angst, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-26
Updated: 2015-06-21
Packaged: 2018-03-03 14:50:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2854739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Citrus_Luver/pseuds/Rakuyou_Tenshi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Jim and Bones' first Christmas as parents aboard the Enterprise.</p><p>Or...</p><p>Jim plans a extravagant Christmas for his family until a mission goes horribly wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is written for the annual Space Wrapped challenge on Lj. 
> 
> Due to poor planning there is still two chapters half written. However, I figured if I don't post it now, since today was my posting date, I will either never finish it, or it will be another year before I do post it, so to force myself to actually finish I'm posting the first two chapters now. 
> 
> It is also not necessary to read The Moment prior to this fic. It is just set in the same universe.

Leonard McCoy awoke suddenly to quietness and coldness. It startled him more than the feeling of being jolted awake. The one thing missing in his life lately was the lack of silence. It was even stranger to awake to it.

He stretched his arms over his head before turning sideways. It was only then that he realized why it was so cold. The spot next to him was empty. The normally human furnace that was his husband Jim Kirk was missing. "Jim?" He called out, softer than he would have months earlier.

He frowned, a little concerned especially when he noted that Jim's uniform was still hanging on the wall. Jim’s boots that had been haphazardly tossed aside due to last night's events were still where they had landed. It had been a long time, too God damn long.

Also, there was no way he could have missed a red alert or anything like that no matter how tired he was lately. At least the reason for his exhaustion was a good one.

Leonard stretched one more time before pushing away the blankets. He grabbed his robe and slipped into his fuzzy slippers. Jim had procured them for him during their last stay at a space station.

He paddled out of their bedroom. Their quarters had only been partitioned into separate individual living areas during their last stay at the space station. Spock had graciously given up his quarter which was adjoined to theirs via the shared bathroom. However Leonard had a nagging feeling that it had less to do with 'you'll need larger quarters' and more that Vulcans had more sensitive ears. However his mama had raised him to never look a gift horse in the mouth, so Leonard didn’t question it… much.

As Leonard entered the living area, he couldn't help but smile at the scene that greeted him. On the couch that was really too small for a nearly two meter tall man to comfortably spread out on were his two most favorite people in universe.

Jim was sprawled out on the couch. His reading glasses dangled crookedly on the bridge of his nose. One arm was hanging limping over the side while the other was protectively supporting their baby girl. Little Joanna Kirk-McCoy was draped over Jim's chest. Her pudgy little legs tucked under her belly. Her pint-sized fists clinched tightly around Jim's pajama top.

A content smile formed on her petite rose bud shaped lips. Her eyelashes, already long and curling upwards, fluttered as she dreamt.

Times like these, Leonard wished he had more than a PADD to capture these moment. Over the months they had captured PADDs and PADDs full of pictures of their little bundle of joy. He snapped a picture anyways with one of the PADDs that was placed precariously close to the edge of their coffee table.

He was tempted to let them sleep. Jim looked younger when he was asleep, and these days sleep was a commodity which they rarely received. The stress lines that constantly pillowed around his forehead had faded away.

It was even rarer for Jo to sleep, and from the looks of it this was the longest period she had slept in days. She had started cutting teeth, and they were brutal. She had been running a slight fever just the day before, and that made both her daddies sweat.

He briefly glanced at the PADD with the dimly lit screen. He smiled at the contents before shaking his head fondly.

_Jim and his plans…_

Leonard knelt down beside them. He lightly ran his fingers over Jim's straight blond hair. He grinned when he saw a small smile reflexively form on Jim's lips before his whole body instinctively gravitated towards him.

Jo let out a small whimper at the slight movement. Her fingers uncurled from Jim's shirt. Her light blonde eyelashes fluttered open revealing a pair of stunningly blue sapphire eyes. Eyes that Leonard could already predict would spell doom for them all.

Leonard pressed a finger to his lips. A large, babyish smile broke out on her face. She pulled herself up before thrusting out her hands at him.

Leonard gently pulled her out of Jim's hold and cradled her against his chest. Her fresh baby scent mixed with the fragrance of the baby powder and her watermelon scented shampoo overwhelmed him.

Jim shifted at the loss of weight but didn't awake.

"Let's let Daddy sleep for a little longer okay, Jo-bug?"

Jo beamed sunnily at him. She was such a happy, easy baby when she wasn't crying. That had been a blessing and in hindsight had been a factor they had overlooked when they first agreed to parenthood in space. That had been a journey in itself, and now looking back, Leonard wondered why it had taken him so long to agree.

Leonard pressed a kiss to his baby girl’s forehead before carrying her back into the bedroom. He set her down in the center of the bed. He swiftly changed her out of her dirty diaper. He crimpled it into a large ball before disposing of it down the garbage chute. He then walked to their dresser.

They had emptied out the topmost drawer for Jo. He dug through the numerous outfits they had procured since and prior to her birth.

He eventually pulled out a fuzzy brown sweater with a bear face embroidered onto the front and a similar sweater in green with a frog face stitched in. Leonard didn't understand the appeal of a line of clothing dedicated to Terran animal faces, but Jim had found them amusing and adorable when Rand showed them the catalog full of baby clothes during the third trimester. However Leonard couldn't disagree when the clothes and Jo arrived that she didn't look adorable in them.

He held it up both outfits to the baby and found that Jo had curled up into a little pill bug on the bed. She was sucking enthusiastically on her big toe. Leonard nearly had a heart attack the first time Jo did it. He rambled out a list of especially potent diseases growing on a spaceship at Jim while Jim smiled bemusedly at him. Now, though he was still worried, he had grudgingly come to peace with it and many other things.

"Do you want to be a bear or a frog, sweetie?" Leonard shook the two sweaters. Jo uncurled herself before rolling onto her belly. She giggled and stuck her hands out at the brown one.

In the background, a cheerful laughter filtered through the room. Both father and daughter turned towards it. Jo immediately cooed and threw her hands up at Jim. He was sprouting his signature Cheshire cat smile while leaning against the door frame with his ankles crossed. His blue eyes twinkled.

"Of course, Jo wants to be a little bear, Bones," Jim said easily as he entered the room. He sat down on the bed, and Jo crawled over to him.

Jim picked her up and sat her down on his lap. He stroked her fine dirty blonde hair. Bones rolled his eyes. He placed the green sweater back into the dresser before digging out the matching pair of brown leggings and brown socks.

Jo giggled as they dressed her. With Jim, it always took twice as long. He had a way of causing her to squirm like a worm and squeal in delight. Most days, mornings were hectic, and time was precious. As a result, Bones would quickly dress her.

"I missed you in bed," Leonard stated absently.

"Sorry," Jim respond sheepishly as he ruffled his already unruly bed hair. "Making plans for Christmas, and then Jo woke up..."

Leonard rolled his eyes. It was no secret that the Enterprise had the best Christmas parties out of all the starships in the fleet. Jim, because he was captain, had instated himself as head of the Enterprise holiday planning committee. It was a small group which usually included Scotty, because engineering had to build the sets; however, any crew member was welcome to help, Uhura and Rand, because 'seriously Jim do you understand anything about color coordination', Chekov and Sulu, because they can never have enough plants or physics, and Leonard and Spock, because nobody else wanted the task of telling Jim 'no'.

Leonard could understand the rationale behind it, but it was getting a little ridiculous as the years went on.

Unlike Leonard, who grew up with the traditional family which translated to large celebrations during the holidays, Jim never got to experience a 'traditional' Christmas with a family, presents, Christmas trees and large Christmas dinners. Winona was always away during Christmas because Christmas was too close to Jim's birthday and Jim's birthday marked the day of her beloved's death. Even Jim’s grandparents, who loved and doted on him, couldn’t move past the death of George Kirk.

So, it wasn’t a surprise now that Jim had a family literally when it came to Leonard and now Jo, and figuratively with the Enterprise crew that he was trying to make up for it.

However, Leonard had seen and heard the rough plans for this year and even he thought the ten-deck Christmas tree, the flashing lights, and the ice rink were a little crazy.

He gave up on the 'Jo is only a baby. She's not going to remember or care' argument, when Jim retorted with the 'Jo isn't the only kid, Bones. This is the Enterprise's first Christmas with kids, Bones, kids!' counterpoint.  After which he then promptly ran off to convince Scotty to build a chimney because 'oh my god, Bones. How else is Santa going to deliver all the presents?'

Jo let out of a string of baby babble that only made sense to her. They figured she loved hearing her own voice. "She's going to start talking soon," Jim said fondly. "Aren't you, baby girl?" He twisted her around and made a funny face at her. Jo burst out into her cute baby laughter.

Leonard smiled. "Yeah, she is."

"Can you say, Daddy?" Jim cooed at her. Jo cocked her head in the Kirk fashion. It was the same look Jim gave Leonard when he was trying to act oblivious. Leonard rolled his eyes. He briefly glanced at the chronometer sitting on their nightstand.

"Let's get ready and get some breakfast. Shift starts soon."

Jim nodded. Leonard hastily changed into his medical blues while Jim continued to get Jo to laugh intermixed with ‘say Daddy, Jo-bug’.

"Bones, what's your schedule like today?"

Leonard rolled his eyes. Most captains knew what their senior staff had scheduled for the day, but Leonard knew it was more of trust and Jim's desire to not micromanage that he gave both he and Scotty mostly free range in their departments. "I know you'll keep our crew in good health, Bones."

"I got an appendectomy scheduled for the morning and the start of the crew and civilian physicals."

Leonard knew Jim detected the 'Jim, you aren't getting out of your physicals this year so stop fighting' tone of voice when he saw Jim cringe. Leonard could only hope Jo wouldn't take after Jim and hate physicals. His hatred for them seemed to have escalated after Jo got her first vaccination. Leonard wasn't sure which one of them cried harder or louder. Jim was a complete mess. That night he refused to even look at Leonard and instead spent the whole night rocking Jo in his grandmother's old rocking chair.

"We're going to reach our next assignment by the midday. Uhura's already detected signs of warp capability," Jim changed the subject easily and swiftly.

Leonard could see the gleam in Jim's eyes. Lately all the planets they had encountered hadn't achieved warp drive which meant Jim was forced to reluctantly abide by the Prime Directive. "Should I ask one of the nurses to watch Jo then?"

Jim stood up and passed Jo to Leonard. He pulled out one of his gold uniforms. "Nah, me and a security detail is more than enough to handle this mission. It’ll be a simple meet and greet: textbook first contact. We'll probably blend right on in.”

Leonard held his tongue. He gave his opinion freely, more freely than he should; however, despite the uneasy feeling he always got whenever Jim left the Enterprise and hell when did he find the Enterprise safer than solid ground, he really couldn't see much danger in this mission. He had seen the scans collected by the science team. A highly advanced civilization lived on the planet. There were even signs their warp drive capability originated even before the Vulcans.

Jim tossed his pajama top onto their bed. Even after so many years, Jim was still as handsome as he had been during their academy days. He had gained some weight over the years. They all had. It was one of the inevitable factors of living on a starship, but Jim was still mostly muscle. Leonard sometimes wondered if seeing an older, alternate universe version of himself had hardened Jim’s resolve to stay fit. Leonard was just glad he didn't have to implement the 'rabbit' diet in this reality.

"If things go well, maybe we could even get some much needed shore leave here. The beaches look incredible, Bones." Jim gushed out.

Only Jim Kirk could on one hand be thinking about beaches while on the other hand attempt to convince Scotty to convert the Enterprise's pool into an ice rink.

"We could all use some sun, or even Keenser is going to start looking pasty. Jo has never seen the beach or an ocean before, and she already loves the pool."

Leonard smiled fondly. He knew whenever Jim got like this; the best thing to do was let him talk it out. He placed Jo on his hip before walking forward. He gently captured Jim's lips in a chaste kiss. "That'd be lovely," Leonard muttered as they broke the kiss.

Jim swung his arm over Leonard's shoulder as they exited their quarters.  
The Enterprise's corridors were still mostly empty this early in the morning. It would be another ten to twenty minutes before alpha shift would start making their way to the recreation rooms for their breakfast, and gamma shift was still at their posts.

Upon entering the senior officers’ mess hall, they found only Scotty present. He was hunched over in a chair near the windows reading what Leonard could only assume to be the latest engineering journal. He was occasionally sipping at his morning coffee.

They collected their meals from the food synthesizers: eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast with coffee, black for Leonard and milk with enough sugar to induce a heart attack for Jim, and a bowl of oatmeal with fresh fruit grown from the onboard greenhouse and a bottle of warm milk for Jo. They set their plates down across from Scotty. He looked up and beamed at Jo. "Good morning Captain, Doctor and wee princess," he said sunnily. Jo clapped her hands happily as Jim wrestled her into her high chair. She kicked her chair moodily.

"Morning Scotty," Jim said easily as he tucked a cloth under the collar of Jo's sweater. Jo whined. She stretched out her hands for the bowl. “Not yet baby girl.”

Leonard nodded his head in acknowledgement before taking a deep sip of his coffee. It tasted as good as always.

"The upgrades to the warp core should be done before the end of the week then we can start on those other modifications.”

"I knew I could count on you, Scotty." Jim beamed before feeding Jo a spoonful of oatmeal.

"She's getting bigger by the day." Scotty said warmly. "I still remember when you used to bring her down to engineering to lull her to sleep during gamma shift. I think my men miss the singing. Spock even reported that our efficiency had never been greater."

Leonard saw the blush rise from the back of Jim's neck to his cheeks. The kid, rarely modest, didn't understand he had a good set of pipes.

"She is sleeping better now, but cutting teeth sucks."

Scotty nodded understandingly. "I remember when it happened with my nephew. My poor sister was at her wit's end. You'd think they would have found a way to make it easier after so many centuries."

"Bones says they haven't to build character.” He fed Jo another spoonful of the oatmeal before twirling the spoon dramatically. "But the question is whose character."

Leonard rolled his eyes.

At that moment, Uhura, Spock, Sulu and Chekov appeared with their breakfast. A string of 'good mornings' were exchanged. Jo smiled sunnily at her many aunts and uncles.

The rest of their breakfast was passed with light conversations. Things like Christmas plans, the next movie for their biweekly gatherings, and the upcoming mission.

"Want to spend a few hours with Daddy on the bridge?" Jim cooed at Jo after unstrapping her from her high chair. Jo clapped her hand excitedly.

"She's definitely going to be a captain someday." Chekov nodded his head sagely as if he had solved all the problems of the universe. Kid was smart enough that he probably could if he wasn't completely devoted to his position as chief navigator.

"It is highly illogical to make such an assumption at this time," Spock started. Jo turned her head at the Vulcan’s face and beamed. Spock's stoic expression momentarily disappeared. Leonard loved watching Spock positively melt at Jo’s smiles.

Leonard was certain only Jo had that effect on the Vulcan.

When he mentioned it to Jim once, Jim just laughed. "Of course, she's a Kirk-McCoy." Jim answered before flashing his shit eating grin at Leonard. "Besides, Uhura thinks it'll cause Spock to change his opinion about raising a kid in space."


	2. Chapter 2

When Jim Kirk was first given the Enterprise, he had expected every mission and every day to be just as exciting and unexpected as their first mission together so many years ago. However as the years went by, and Jim became older and wiser, even Jim Kirk fell into the inevitable cycle of routine.

It had been a while since their last planet side mission and even longer since they been to one with warp capability. Jim was practically bouncing on the balls of his heels as he walked onto the bridge.

He smiled as Chekov chirped out 'keptin on the bridge'. It had started out as a joke since their initial jaunt into space which had resulted in three captains in the span of one mission; however, so many years later Jim found it endearing. He sank into his chair with Jo on his hip. She kicked her feet excitedly as Lieutenant DeSalle handed over the reports from gamma shift.

He scanned the reports and noted how nothing unusual had occured during the night. They were on track to arrive at their destination. "Good work, lieutenant." Jim nodded his head.

"Thank you, captain,” DeSalle answered. Jim could detect the pride in the young man’s voice. Jim watched as he hurried off the bridge. He would make a fine captain someday. The rest of the shift change occurred just as smoothly. It was nice to be the captain of a crew with so much comradery.

He set Jo down on the ground once the alpha crew was situated. He smiled as she toddled over to Sulu's station. She had just started walking. Like all babies, she was a little unsteady on her feet and walked with her hands straight out.

Jim smiled as she sat down on her bottom before pulling on Sulu's pant legs. He loved the effect she had on his crew. Sulu smiled and scooped her onto his lap. He turned briefly to look at Jim who simply smiled.

"Want to help Uncle Hikaru fly the ship, Jojo?" Sulu asked. He spoke quietly, but loud enough for Jim to hear.

Jo giggled and clapped her hands. Jim watched as Jo pulled herself up so that she could see the console. She wobbled a little as she tried to balance on the curvature of Sulu's legs before he protectively wrapped an arm around her waist.

Jo beamed up at him before directing her attention at the flashing console board. Through the reflection of the view screen, Jim could see Jo was actually listening attentively to Sulu as he described what some of the buttons did. She had her little tongue sticking part way out.

Jim smiled before pulling up a PADD. He groaned at the amount of paperwork and reports he had to fill out before the end of the year. There were upgrades, last minute mission logs, and crew commendations and transfer and reassignment requests.

Over the years, Jim was proud to say he had matured as a captain; he was no longer the green, cocky captain who dove into everything headfirst. It also meant he was more responsible about the growth and career advancement of his crew. He had been extremely lucky to have been directly commissioned to captain straight out of the academy; however, he knew this wasn't the norm. He hated letting crew members go. It felt like he was losing a part of his family, but he knew it was important to let them work under different captains and different ships for their own growth.

He chewed the tip of his pen as he approved the few transfer requests that had been submitted and approved the replacements. Most were from the research departments. He also noted like always there was none from medical. He vaguely wondered when Bones last received a replacement nurse or doctor.

The next time Jim looked up, he saw that Sulu was letting Jo 'drive' the Enterprise. Of course, Jo was too young to understand auto pilot or that she wasn't actually piloting the Enterprise. At least she was having fun.

He knew if the brass saw what he was doing they would cite a thousand regulations that they were breaking: favoritism, hazards and professionalism. Jim normally turned a deaf ear to it. During normal operation, the Enterprise practically drove herself. Hell, she did drive  herself.

He smiled fondly at the reflection of Jo in Sulu's arm on the view screen before returning to his PADD. He was deeply engrossed in a report from the science team detailing the properties of the vast ecosystem of their last assignment when he felt a tiny tug on his pant leg.

Jim peered up from his PADD and smiled. "Hey baby girl." He tucked the PADD into the space between his leg and the side of his chair.

Jo grinned up at him. "Want to sit with Daddy?"

Jo clapped her hands and babbled a string of her baby talk. Jim, taking that as a yes, scooped her up. He blew a raspberry into her belly causing her to giggle.

At that moment, Chekov's startled cry of 'keptin!' jolted him to attention. He pulled Jo into his lap before looking up. His eyes widened in horror at the large, black mass hurling towards them as the Enterprise flew towards it.

"Mr. Sulu, evasive maneuver now!"

"Aye sir."

Jim reflexively tightened his grip around Jo with one hand as he clenched the edge of his chair to prevent himself from flying off as the Enterprise turned hard. During times like these, he really questioned the logic behind not equipping starships with easy to fasten seat belts. He hated the emergency harnesses and had never used them.

Sulu practically bit through his bottom lip as threw his whole weight into turning the ship.

The black mass continued to advance, closer and closer. While the Enterprise, large and gaudy, although sleek in design, still turned painfully slow.

"Mr. Sulu," Jim urged. He could feel Jo trembling. He didn't even have to look down to know she was scared.

"I'm trying, sir," Sulu responded. He could tell from experience and Sulu's expression that something was wrong. The Enterprise had finished making a ninety degree turn. The black mass shouldn’t still be following them.

"Captain," Spock's stoic voice broke the near silence. As Jim turned to speak, a large bang resonated throughout the Enterprise. A loud, high pitched squeaking sound resonated overhead. As the noise died down, the Enterprise bounced once then twice before settling down.

Jo let out a quiet whimper. Jim gently ran circles through her back before throwing his head back towards Spock and Uhura's station. Uhura's communication panel was already lighting up as different departments were already reporting in their damage. "Yes, Mr. Spock."

"Captain, right before the mass collided with us, sensors showed that it had corrected its course as Mr. Sulu did."

Jim nodded his head. "How did our sensors not pick up on it? This isn't the 1900's when the Titanic failed to notice the iceberg."

"Keptin, it just showed up," Chekov said feebly.

Jim pinched the bridge of his nose. After all these years in space, and he had accumulated a heartily sum now, space debris didn't just show up.

"Mr. Spock and Mr. Chekov, while we complete our mission today, please analysis the ship’s sensor logs. We need to see if there are any more anomalies in our systems. Mr. Scott can help as needed."

"Aye sir." Chekov nodded his head.

"Yes captain," Spock answered, as passive as ever, but Jim could detect the curiosity in Spock’s voice. In his Vulcan way, Spock was dying to see what could have caused such an incident.

He diverted his attention to Uhura. “Damage report?”

“Minor crew injuries,” Uhura reported. “Engineering reports minor hull damage.”

“Good, good.” The last thing he needed this far into deep space was ship damage. They were weeks out from the nearest star base that was large enough to accommodate a ship the size of the Enterprise. “Mr. Sulu, correct our heading back to our assignment then.”

“Yes sir.” He could detect the slight tremor in Sulu’s voice. He was clearly still shaken from the incident.

Just as Jim was planning was stand up to squeeze Sulu on the shoulder, the all too familiar voice belonging to that of his husband filtered onto the bridge. “God damn it, Jim, what the hell was that?”

Jim rolled his eyes. He spun in his chair to be rewarded by one seething Leonard McCoy as he stepped off the turbo lift. Really, most men cowered in fear when Bones appeared enraged; however, Jim Kirk always found it incredibly hot. He loved the grouchy side of his husband as much as he loved his affectionate and happy side.

"Turbulence?" Jim replied lamely. He smiled as Jo reached upwards. Jim tightened her grip around her.

"Turbulence, my ass. I almost cut out a section of Ensign Weathers' intestines, Jim Kirk." Leonard traversed the room. He crossed his arms; a deep scowl formed on his face.

Jo beamed at him and waved her arms. She babbled a string of nonsense, and like always the scowl on Bones' expression immediately faded away. Spock wasn’t the only one Jo had this effect on.

Bones took Jo from his arms. "Hey baby girl." He pressed a kiss to Jo's forehead. “Did Daddy do something stupid again?”

“Hey!” Jim protested indignantly.

Bones’ smile got wider when Jo actually nodded. He would need to work on his daughter. He couldn’t have them both ganging up on him.

“Spock, you have the con.” Jim stood up. He pulled at the cuff of Bones’ uniform.

“Yes, captain.” Spock answered.

Bones rolled his eyes. “What the hell Jim?”

“Need to go down to engineering and talk to Scotty about what just happened.” Jim eyed Bones expectedly.

Bones’ eyebrow immediately rose. “Damnit Jim, I’m a doctor not a…”

Jim flashed his husband a smile before slapping him on the shoulder. “I know Bones. You’re a doctor, and you know how engineers are. They’ll never leave their posts even if they’re bleeding out.”

“Engineers.” Bones rolled his eyes; however, Jim didn’t even have to look back to know that he would follow into the turbo lift.

Jim loved the soft hum of the Enterprise's engines. When he was first given the Enterprise, he used to spend hours in engineering climbing through the Jefferies tubes. He always figured if he hadn't gone through the command track; he would have definitely done engineering.

As they entered engineering, Jim flashed a glance at Bones and Jo. He loved seeing Jo's eyes widen every time he brought her down here to visit. Even though she wasn't even a year old yet, most people who knew her loved to speculate which track she would pursue when she joined the academy.

As much as Jim entertained the idea of Jo following in his footsteps and being a captain because any child with his and Bones' genetics was definitely a force to be reckoned with, he wouldn't be too disappointed if she chose something else.

Bones however was scowling something fierce. Jim almost did a second take at the chaos currently unfolding in his engine room. Normally it was controlled chaos.

Jim climbed over a pile over loose hose and piping. "Scotty," he shouted as he spun on the balls of his heels to locate the Scotsman.

"Aye captain," a disembodied voice called out over the noise. Moments later, his chief engineer, sweaty and grease covered, appeared through a conduit. He rubbed his hands on the towel that he always had tucked inside his pants pocket before walking forward.

"Mr. Scott, what are you doing to my engine room?"

He spotted Bones moving through the chaos. He was tricorder already twirling. Jim could already see a few of the younger, greener engineers ducking behind panels. They had a lot to learn. Bones was a master at finding people who tried to avoid medical attention.

"Upgrades, sir," Scotty answered easily.

"Spock and Chekov may come down here later for data on our earlier collision."

Scotty nodded his head. "What happened sir, if you don't mind me asking? Sulu’s one of the best pilots in the fleet." Scotty patted the Enterprise's walls. "She's strong, sir, but it's a long way to space dock if something happens to her outer hull. We don't have nearly enough reserves to fix damaged outer hull plating."

"We think it wasn't simple space debris. Spock believes it course corrected when Sulu turned her."

Scotty's eyes widened. "Sentient space debris," he shook his head. "Not something I ever thought I would see."

"We're a long way from home, Scotty."

"That we are."

Bones appeared minutes later. There was a large scowl on his face. "Bones?"

"Engineers..." Bones shifted Jo in his arms. "This ship is full of overzealous people who never understand the importance of health. Five crewmen had second degree burns; a sixth had a slight concussion." Bones gave him the eyebrow, as if insinuating that it was all Jim's fault. So what if he often avoided sick bay like a plague when he was actually hurt, he was the captain. He was busy.

Jim laughed awkwardly before turning back to Scotty. "So how are the plans on turning the pool into an ice rink going?" He spotted Bones leaning against one of the consoles in the corner of his eye.

"I think we can actually do it, Captain. Just need to adjust the temperature sensors a little more. Keenser thinks we can actually get it to snow."

Bones' eyebrows shot upwards. Scotty and Keenser made quite a team, and one that Bones was constantly complaining was giving him as many grey hairs as Jim did.

A few hours later, they finally reached Loyan. It was a large purple planet which Spock found 'fascinating'. Sulu easily maneuvered the Enterprise into a perfect synchronized orbit around the planet.

Jim flashed Bones a smile as he stepped off the bridge once again. “See you in a bit,” he mouthed as he doors of the turbo lift slid close.

The last thing he saw was a particularly high eyebrow raise. Jim laughed joyfully.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the extreme delay. Just one more left.

The Enterprise had been orbiting Loyan for hours now.  Jim and his security detail had reported in just a hour ago.  Jim was deep in the throes of galactic negotiations which obviously meant that he was sending secured messages to Leonard’s personal PADD. 

Leonard rolled his eyes at Jim’s last message.

_The seas are so green here.  They remind me of your eyes.  ;)_

“Your daddy is ridiculous, Jo,” Leonard said fondly to his daughter.  She grinned up at him, flashing the small number of pearly white teeth she possessed.  “Can you say, ‘Daddy’, Sweetheart?”  Leonard prompted the little girl.

Unbeknownst to Jim, he had been trying to get Jo to say ‘Daddy’ as her Christmas gift to him.  However, it seemed Joanna was just as stubborn as both of her daddies.   He had yet to get her to say anything even remotely resembling ‘daddy’.

With Christmas less than a week away, Leonard was starting to get desperate.  The baby handprint keepsake ornaments, that Uhura had showed him when she caught him trying to get Jo to say ‘daddy’, were starting to become more and more appealing.  He guessed in some manner he was equally as stubborn as his husband and daughter.

His PADD lit up again.  Leonard reached for it.  He rolled his eyes at Jim’s latest message.

_Remember spring break of ’57?_

In hindsight, he did remember that March fondly.  It was their second spring break at the Academy.  After the bear fiasco in Yosemite the year before, he swore up and down he would not spend another spring break in the great outdoors with Jim Kirk.  The sneaky bastard that Jim Kirk was took that to mean that spelunking wasn’t ‘outdoors’.

“Technically it’s indoors, Bones,” Jim explained easily when he appeared in their ‘shared’ doom room with the gear and tickets on the next shuttle out of San Francisco. 

So for a week, Leonard found himself traversing through the deep caverns of New Mexico with Jim Kirk.     

_Those caves have nothing compared to these, Bones.  It’s like an underground stellar map._

‘The rest of us have to work, Jim.’  Leonard typed back. 

_This is work.  It’s called exploration, Bones.  Remember, we’re also explorers.  Jealous?  ;)_

“Unbelievable.”  Leonard rolled his eyes.

_What does it mean if I can just picture you rolling your eyes at me?_

Leonard laughed.  ‘I think it means we’re getting old, Jim Kirk, with grey hairs and all’.

_I do not have grey hairs, old man._

‘Whatever you say, Jim’.

_TTYL, we’re dropping again._

Leonard rolled his eyes as he set his PADD down.  Only Jim still used the lingo of two hundred years ago.  It had taken Leonard a long time to become accustomed to seeing ‘LOL’s and ‘FYI’s appear on his PADD.  He wasn’t even going to acknowledge Jim Kirk’s emoticon faces created out of punctuation marks. 

He turned his attention back to his paperwork.   

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Leonard always thought when it finally happened it would have started with a ‘shit storm’ like with Khan, Nero, or even the Doomsday machine.  So when the Enterprise suddenly went on ‘red alert’, he nearly split his pen in half from just how startled he was.

A mixture of Jo’s screams, she hated ‘red alerts’ almost as much as he did, and the blazing sirens from the klaxons nearly caused him to miss the flashing of his com link.  He pressed it hastily. 

“McCoy here.”

“Doctor, please report to the bridge.”  Spock’s stoic voice filtered through.  Before Leonard could question anything, the connection terminated.  Leonard wasn’t sure if it was a faulty connection or Spock didn’t want to discuss it over the link. 

His mind immediately wandered to Jim.  As he grabbed his medical tricorder, his fingers brushed against his personal PADD.  As Jim’s last message flashed on the screen, he realized it had been hours since their last communications.  A horrible, sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. 

He scooped up Jo, pressed her to his chest, before hurriedly rushing out of his office as quickly as possible.   His nurses and orderlies were already preparing for the potential onslaught of patients.  He nodded at M’Benga, who although took opposite shifts from him always reported to sick bay during emergencies, as he exited sick bay.  Although they rarely worked together except during emergencies, they had developed their own system of communications.  There was very little they needed to say to each other for the other to understand.

He made it to the bridge in record time.  As the turbo lift doors opened, he halted in place.  Although nothing was smoking, and a quick glance around indicated that nobody seemed to need medical attention, he noted the tense atmosphere in the room. 

Rand was the first to approach.  She held out her arms for Jo.  Leonard shook his head, and she stepped back for him to pass by.  He crossed the room quickly to Spock’s side who was sitting in Jim’s chair.  He had his legs crossed and his hands were tightly clenching a PADD.  Leonard took his place on the left behind the chair.

“Doctor.” 

“What the hell is going on?”  Leonard barked.  “Jim said this was a routine ‘first contact’.”

“It was.”

Leonard narrowed his eyes.  “If we’re going to play riddles…”

“Commander, we got his bio signs.”

“Bio signs...” The words died on his lips as the readings appeared on the view screen.  He didn’t need his fancy medical degrees to know something was horribly, horribly wrong.  “Get him out of there, damn it,” Leonard cursed.

“It’s not that simple, Dr. McCoy.”

“Damn it Spock, spit it out man.”

“Leonard,” he hadn’t even heard Uhura approach them.  Leonard immediately detected the slight tremble in her normally strong voice.  Uhura was one of the strongest women he knew.

“I’m not a porcelain doll,” Leonard snapped out.  “What the hell happened?”  He mentally cursed himself when Jo let out a sob.  She gripped a portion of the fabric of his uniform.  He absently rubbed her back and pressed her against his chest. 

“It seems the Loyans took the captain exploring thru their vast caverns…” Spock started.  It was only due to their years of association that Leonard registered the fear that was masked in Spock’s voice.

A fear, a deep fear cascaded through Leonard’s body.  It was akin to the one he had felt when he realized how many hours had passed since Jim last sent him a message.  He had attributed it to whatever the Loyans were showing him which captured his attention.  However, in hindsight, Leonard should have realized just how absurd that was.   

“There was an accident, a seismic anomaly through the tunnels that the Loyans took the captain through.  It shifted the landscape.   We just managed to get the captain’s signal back.”

“What are you waiting for?  Beam him up,” Leonard snapped. 

“Leonard,” Uhura said kindly, almost too kindly.  Her tone of voice was the same as the neighbors’ when his daddy first got sick.  He flinched when he felt Uhura’s hand on his shoulder.  She never called him that on shift.  It was always doctor or ‘Dr. McCoy’. 

“The meteor that hit us earlier knocked out some of our sensors.”

“But you have his bio signs,” Leonard waved his hand feebly at the view screen.  He wasn’t good with engineering or transporter science.  He always left that to Jim, Scotty, or Spock, but he had taken the basics as an elective to humor Jim at the Academy.  It was enough to increase his distrust of them even more. 

“It seems the admirals were not… truthful…” Leonard detected the menace in Spock’s voice.  Time and experience had made even loyal Spock distrustful of the top brass back on Earth.  “It appears there were ulterior reasons for having us visit this planet.  Loyan doesn’t just possess civilizations that are wrap drive capable.  Its caverns contain minerals and elements that could revolutionize the Federation.  Our earlier collision with the space debris and the minerals contained in the Loyan caverns are disturbing our sensor readings.  The captain’s bio signs are bouncing among nine hundred thousand possible areas.  Without a definite object to lock on it…”  Spock trailed off. 

With one hand, Leonard creased his forehead.  He didn’t firmly grasp everything that Spock was saying because damn it he was a doctor not a scientist, but he knew enough to know that it didn’t brood well.  The bio signs that were flashing on the view screen were alarming.  Jim was hurt.   There were all the indications that he going into hypothermic shock. 

He tightened his grip on Jo.  She whimpered pitifully even though she wasn’t even a year old.  She was just as good if not better at reading people’s emotions than Jim was.

“Commander!”  Hawkins’ voice cut through the tense atmosphere.  Leonard hadn’t even noticed the other communicator officer on the bridge.  Usually Uhura worked solely at the communication’s console.

“Lieutenant,” Spock acknowledged.

“I have the captain.”

“Patch him through.”  Leonard noted the urgency in Spock’s voice.

“Yes, sire,” Hawkins responded quickly.  Leonard watched as the young lieutenant fumbled with the controls before finding the correct button.  He wasn’t Uhura, but he had come a long way since that initial mission that resulted in the destruction of Vulcan. 

Leonard grimaced at the static that filtered through the systems.  His breath hitched at the sound of Jim’s raspy breathing.

“Captain,” Spock broke the silence.  “This is Spock.”

“S… Spock?”  Jim’s voice was so faint, so distant.

“There appears to have been a cave in.”

“Oh… yeah…”  Jim coughed. 

“Our earlier collision with the meteor and the Loyans caverns are disturbing our sensors.  The Loyans are trying to help us…” Spock nodded at Uhura who had returned to her post.  She was furiously talking into her head piece to who Leonard could only assume to be the Loyan high command.  Uhura returned Spock’s nod.  “However, they do not possess sophisticated mining equipment.”

“Wonderful,” Jim muttered.  The irony present in his voice was as thick as molasses.

“Captain, if at all possible, please describe to us your surroundings.”

There was a long, pregnant pause.  “It’s so dark and cold, Spock.  I can barely see my hands.”

“Remove all areas that are close to the surface or with connections to the surface,” Spock stated.  At that moment, Leonard noticed that on the view screen next to Jim’s bio signs were thousands of faint red dot on a grid.  At Spock’s words, a few hundred red dots disappeared off the screen.  However thousands more glared tauntingly back at him, all the possibilities and only one was Jim.  Leonard had never tried finding a needle in a haystack, but he could only fathom this was a close approximation.  He pulled Jo close to his body.  Her baby scent grounded him.

Jo cried at.

“Jo?”  Jim asked questionably.  His voice was getting softer and softer.

“We're right here Jim,” Leonard responded quickly. 

“Bones,” Jim whispered.  His voice was thicker.  His breathing was getting shallower and raspier by the moment.  He could go into shock at any moment.  There was also no indication that Jim was on anything stable.  

_Damn it, they were running out of time._

He watched Uhura’s furious muttering before she pressed more buttons and more red dots disappeared.  However, Leonard knew it wasn’t enough.  There were too many possibilities left, and Jim didn’t have nearly enough time.

“We’re going to get you out of there Jim,” Leonard stated with more confidence than he thought he possessed.

Jim laughed.  It was quickly followed by a fit of coughs and more static.  Leonard could only surmise that Jim was holding his communicator extremely close to his lips.  “Just like the Alps right?”

Leonard rolled his eyes when Spock shot him a questionably look.  He couldn’t believe he had almost forgotten about their summer in the Alps.  “Yeah Jim, just like the Alps.”

_Just like the Alps._

Jim was right.  He had found him then.  He would find him again, and this time he didn’t need to do it alone.  Everyone on the bridge was working furiously to find Jim.  He realized that as he saw the bridge crew working furiously at their consoles doing things that Leonard couldn’t even possibly imagine. 

He tightened his grip around their little girl. She twisted her head around and let out a cry.

"Jo?"  Jim's voice sounded confused as if he forgot she was there.  

"Damn it, Jim.  Hang on," Leonard curse out.  He gently rubbed Jo's back.  He wondered if she understood.  He wondered if she would even remember Jim.

_God..._

He had never been much of a praying man, but at that moment, he wished there was a god out there that could save Jim.  

“Trying Bones.  It’s so cold, so dark.  Is this what you thought space was like?”

Only Jim could think of such trivial things in a time like this.  “Not any more, Jimmy.”  Leonard managed to choke out.  “Not anymore.”

“That… that’s… good.”

“Jim!”

“Wha…”

“Talk to me darlin’… talk to me about your Christmas plans.”  It was the first thing that came to mind; however, at this moment it was the furthest thing that he cared about.

“Really?”

“Yeah, Jim.  Tell me about how you’re going to make it snow.”

“And the ice rink, Bones.  The ice rink…” 

And Jim kept talking and talking.  There wasn’t much substance in what Jim was saying and by the end Jim was beginning to repeat things.  Leonard wondered if Jim realized that.

“And the ice rink, Bones.  A… ice rink…”  Jim muttered. 

“That’s real nice, Jimmy.”  His words caught on his throat. 

"I'm so sorry, B… Bones."

Leonard wondered what Jim was apologizing for.  It was something he rarely did.  However, when Leonard looked around the room, he saw the tears cascading down Uhura's chocolate brown eyes.  They were mirrored on Chekov's. Even Spock looked subdued, defeated.  He realized the crew had stopped working.   

"We're going to get you out of there Jim."

Jim laughed.  It wasn't his usual full belly laugh that traveled to his blazing sapphire eyes.  

God, had it only been a few hours that they had all been enjoying breakfast?  That Jim was telling him how beautiful Loyan's beaches were?  A few hours since the only thing that mattered for Jim was how Scotty was going to freeze the Enterprise's pool in time for Christmas?

"Bones..." Jim chided.  His breathe was raspy.  He didn't need to look at the bio readings that were being displayed on the view screen to know that Jim was running out of time.  He pressed a kiss to Jo's forehead.  Her fine blonde hair brushed against his lips.

He steeled his resolve.  He had once fought death to bring Jim back to life.  He wasn't going to lose him now.  Not now, not now that they finally had a baby, a family, and years to look forward to.

"Damn it Jim.  Don't you dare give up!  We’re going to figure it out, and we'll get you out of there."  Leonard cursed out.  

"It's so cold, Bones, so cold."

"His thermal readings are dropping, Doctor."  He could detect the urgency, the fear in Spock's voice.

"Damn it Spock, I know that."  Leonard snapped.  He had recognized the sign long ago.  He flinched when Jo let out another wail.  He didn't know anymore why he refused Rand when she first volunteered to take Jo off the bridge.  

He stumbled, and Spock gently pressed him into Jim's chair.  Leonard wondered when Spock had vacated it.  It had been a long time since Leonard sat in it.  

He pulled Jo, who was starting to look more and more like Jim every day, close.  She looked up at him with her sapphire blue eyes, tear stained and red, but blazing and burning.  So much like Jim’s, that Bones couldn’t help but let out a strangled cry.  At that moment, he could almost understand why and how Winona abandoned her boys. 

"Bones," Jim voice filtered through the com links. He heard Jim sputter and gasp.  In the background there was a sound.  He turned to look at Spock.  The half-Vulcan was staring at the view screen.  He could see fear in his normally stoic brown eyes. 

 _Did the Vulcan with his superior hearing not hear it?  Was he grasping for straws that didn't exist?_  

“Take care of Jo.”

"Jim!"

"Bones, I love you… so much."

"Jim!"  Leonard screamed.  At that moment, the bio signs that up till that moment had been beeping on the view screen ceased.  "Jim!"  He screamed again and again.

The sounds on the bridge, Jo's cries, the static coming from Jim's communicator, it all became muffled except for that one sound, the one in the background.

_It sounded like rushing water._

"Water!"  He gasped out.

"Doctor?"  It was Spock's voice.  He looked up to see the hobgoblin hovering overhead.  God, he never felt so delighted to see the green hobgoblin than at that moment.  He loosened one hand from Jo's back and gripped the sleeve of Spock's shirt with a strength he didn't even realize he still had left.

"Rushing water…"

He saw the realization appear in Spock's eyes.  At that moment he was glad for all the years they had served together.  Those words were enough for Spock to understand.  Spock reached down and pressed down on the com link button.    

"Mr. Scott, did you hear that?"

"Aye Commander, transporting on your command," Scotty's voice filtered through.

Spock looked at him once.  Leonard nodded before pulling himself out of Jim's chair... Jim.  He would fight heaven and hell for his husband.  As he left the bridge, the last thing he heard was Spock shouting 'now Mr. Scott, quadrant B10'.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The extremely belated final chapter. Enjoy!

Jim woke with a start.  He gasped out.  His lungs burned.  The ice cold water... the drowning... Bones... Jo.  He twisted.  Only then did he realize he wasn't still pinned down by a large boulder anymore.  Only then did he recognize the familiar hum... the familiar walls... the familiar beeping and even the extremely cold and sterile bio bed.  

He turned his head and smiled.  Bones was sitting in a chair beside his bed.  He was passed out.  Bones had a distinct five o'clock shadow.

_Bones... Bones had saved him again._

There were more wrinkles on Bones' face.  Even in his sleep, Bones looked older than the last time Jim had seen him.  

_Fuck…_

He didn't even know what day it was anymore.

There was a familiar cry from Bones' office that broke the silence.  Jim recognized it immediately as Jo’s high pitched wail.  Just as he was wondering how he could possibly get out of the bio bed without setting off the alarms, Bones jolted awake.  

Bones' eyes widened.  "Jim," he gasped out. He leaned forward.  Their faces separated only by mere centimeters.  Jim reached up and gently creased the side of Bones' face.

"I'm okay."  

The cry from Bones' office intensified. "You should get her before she wakes everyone up."  Jim muttered.

“Okay,” Bones replied back.  He cupped Jim’s cheeks with one hand and with the other gently brushed back a loose piece of forelock from Jim’s face.  Bones seemed hesitant to leave. Jim gently reached up and ran his fingers over Bones’ knuckles.  "I'll be right here."

Bones nodded.  

He gently squeezed Jim's fingers once before turning for his office.  

However, Jim wasn't alright.  The moment Bones left his side, his breath became shorter. His heart clenched.  The events down on Loyan flashed back: the feeling of drowning in that cave, Jo's cries over the com link, because Jim knew even though Jo didn't understand she has been frightened, and the words he said to Bones thinking they would be his last.

"Jim!"  Bones' shout snapped him out of it.  It was then that Jim felt the tightening around his neck.  He gasped as he took a deep breath.  He hadn’t even realized he had been holding his breath again.  

Bones was at his side instantly.  Jo pressed to his chest with one hand while he reached for his medical tricorder with the other hand. 

Jo twisted her head around. Jim could see the large tears forming around her big blue eyes.  Sometimes they looked bluer than his. Her face was red and tear-streaked.  

Bones' outcry had scared her, and Bones' current frantic movements were escalating the problem. Her eyes were widening.  

It seemed Jo's cries had wakened one of Bones' nurses.  Nurse Dickson, one of Bones' older nurses who had been with them since the beginning, rushed in.  "Doctor," she started.  She hurried forward and started to reach for Jo.  

Jo, who was normally open to other people holding her even strangers, let out a strangled cry and pressed her body against Bones’.  The act stopped Bones.  His tricorder was already whirling and downloading more in depth data to the display attached to the bio bed.  

He gently pressed a kiss against her forehead.  "Jo, don't you want to go with Auntie Dickson?"  

Jo clenched tighter to Bones’ uniform.

"Bones, I'm fine," Jim interjected.  He wondered if at that moment they had forgotten he was even there.

Bones and Dickson both turned towards him.  "Captain," Nurse Dickson gasped.  Jim wondered how she possibly could have missed he was awake.

"Like hell you are," Bones growled.  "I stepped out of the room for a minute, and you almost stopped breathing."  

Jim cringed.  That had less to do with his physical health and more to do with...

Bones shifted Jo again.  Jo screamed. It broke his heart, and he knew Bones was equally concerned. Jim had seen it before, in himself when he was little and his mother left him with Uncle Frank.

"Let her stay, Bones," Jim implored.  Because even as the words left his lips, Jim realized it would be just as much for Jo's benefit as his own.  He saw the realization in Bones' eyes.

"We'll be fine, Dickson.”  Bones stopped trying to disentangle his daughter from his chest.    

"Okay Doctor," she replied briskly.  Jim noted the exasperation that appeared on her face.  She looked at Jim once more.  He figured whatever she saw satisfied her, for she turned on her heels.  Before she disappeared, she drew close the privacy blinds.  Jim hadn’t even noticed that they had been open.

Bones placed the tricorder down and sat back down on the chair.  It seemed Jo realized she wasn't going to be removed and unlatched from Bones' shirt and twisted around.

She held out her arms imploringly.  "Daddy needs to rest, pumpkin," Bones muttered. Jo dropped her arms.  Her face twisted again. Jim reached over.   Bones understood and shifted a little closer, so Jim could grasp Jo's little hand with one hand and Bones' with the other.

It felt good. It felt right.

They sat like that for a while.  Jo dozed off in Bones’ chest.  

"God Jim," Bones muttered.  It was so quiet that Jim barely heard him.  There were tears in his normally vibrant hazel eyes.  “You ass,” he finally muttered out.

Jim ran his fingers over Bones’ knuckles.  He played particularly close attention to the calluses that had formed on the pads of his fingertips.  His fingers had more creases and wrinkles.   He picked up Bones' hand before gently brushing a kiss to each knuckle.  

"Jim."  Bones sounded so tired.  

Jim slowly looked up.  He scratched the back of his neck before wincing at just how sore he was.

"Sorry," Jim muttered.  

"I know you have this need to be the hero, save everyone… be a martyr."  Bones sounded so tired.  He stroked Jo's blonde baby fluff.  She let out a content sigh before sinking closer against Bones' broad chest.  Bones looked down at their baby girl fondly.  "I get that Jim.  I really do.  I know every day I have with you is a miracle, a gift..."  

"Bones," Jim muttered out.  His heart felt like it was shattering.  He could detect the resigned note in Bones' voice.  He watched as Bones shifted Jo in his arms.  The little girl twisted her lips and stretched her arms but didn't awake.

Bones pressed a kiss to her forehead.  At that moment, Jim felt the axis of his universe shift.  Bones was right.  It was a by-product of his upbringing, for no matter how much Bones had tried over the years.  Jim couldn’t understand why he mattered when he never had before.    As a result, he had always treated his marriage just as hesitantly. He had always been too afraid to take the final plunge even after Jo came along.  He realized just how easy it was tell Bones to take care of their daughter during that final moment, and it suddenly left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth.  

All his life he had resented his father for dying, for giving up on life, for leaving them.  That of all the things that anyone ever mentioned about his father and how alike they were, the most popular comparison was by far, ‘your father didn’t believe in ‘no-win scenarios’; however, George Kirk had believed in them when it mattered the most. 

And Jim realized, today, he was no different from his own father.  He had almost given up too.

"I know you need space like we need air.”

“Bones…”

“But God, Jo needs you, Jim.  She ain't going to understand."  The tears threatened to break free from Bones' eyes.   

"Bones," Jim bit his lips to stop himself for saying words that would have no meaning.  He knew Bones didn't want empty promises or half-assed ones that Jim couldn't keep.  "I can't promise you tomorrow won't be our last day together or anything like that."

"I ain't asking for anything like that, Jim."

"But I will promise, I'll try my damn best to return to you and Jo.  I ain't the same person I was back at the academy, and there are things I can't change." Jim rubbed his nose.  "I don’t know what our next mission will be like, nor can I promise I won’t put the crew first.”  Jim tightened his grip on Bones’ fingers.  “However, unlike before I do have a reason to try... for you and Jo."

Bones sighed.  He rubbed the bridge of his nose. 

"Okay, Darlin'," Bones nodded. "Let me put Jo back into her crib.  You should get some sleep."

At that thought, Jim immediately grabbed onto Bones' shirt sleeve.  "Stay?"

Bones rolled his eyes.  “Of course, I’ll stay no matter how bad you are to my back.”

Jim chuckled.  “No, I mean here.”  He scooted over on the bed.

Bones hesitated.  "These beds aren't meant for more than one person, Jim."

"We've slept in worse."

Bones raised an eyebrow; however, like most things Bones always gave in.  Bones adjusted the bio bed settings before sitting down on the bed.   He laid Jo on his chest before wrapping an arm around Jim.  Jim smiled before pillowing his head against Bones' chest and wrapping an arm over Jo’s tiny body. He fell asleep to Bones' warmth and the sound of his heartbeat.

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Jim woke to silence and warmth. For a second, he thought he was back in his quarters.  However as he opened his eyes, he noticed the familiar white wash walls and the hard, extremely narrow bed that he was sleeping in.

He smiled as he saw Bones sleeping next to him.  Their baby girl was resting peaceful under his arms.  He pressed a kiss to Jo's tiny forehead before burrowing further into Bones' chest.

He must have fallen asleep, for when he did eventually awake again, it was to the sound of Bones’ voice against his ear.

"Mornin' darlin'."  Bones' voice was particularly thick with his Georgian accent.

"Ugh," Jim moaned.  He blinked.  His eyelids were caked with sleep dust. 

“Here,” Bones said kindly.  He pressed a small straw against Jim’s chapped lips.  As Jim took his first gulp he realized just how thirsty he was.  When he finished the cup, Bones gently ran his fingers through his bangs.  “Get some more rest, darlin’.”

“Shift,” Jim muttered.  His throat still felt so raw.

“I took you off duty.  Spock’s covering for you.  You’re going to stay in bed and cuddle with Jo.” Bones placed their sleepy baby girl on his chest.  Jim smiled as Jo burrowed into his shirt. 

“Okay, Bones,” Jim answered easily, because he really did want to sleep and cuddling with Jo was one of his favorite things to do. 

 

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Luckily, Bones finally sprang him from medical late that afternoon.  He had slept through most of the day.  The rest of the time, he watched Bones bustle around sick bay while Jo chattered away in her incomprehensible baby talk.

However when they didn't go to their quarters, Jim was confused.  He was even more confused when Bones handed him a thick overcoat and proceeded to pull his own on before buttoning Jo into hers.

However when the doors opened, Jim's eyes widened.  Before him a winter wonderland appeared before him.  The ten deck Christmas tree was looming over it all.  It was brimming with sparkling lights and ornaments.  

Even the snow he had been trying to synthesize with the laboratory technicians was steadily falling from the ceiling.  Hell, it didn’t even feel sticky like their last batch.   

Uhura and Spock approached them.

"What is all of this?"  Jim asked, completely bewildered.  He looked from Bones, to Jo, to Uhura, and finally to Spock.

"The Christmas decorations you had requested," Spock answered easily.  Uhura chuckled.  Bones was also grinning broadly.

"But... But..."  Jim sputtered.

"It was Leonard's idea.  It keep us all busy while you were unconscious, Jim," Uhura answered.  

"Bones?"  Jim turned towards his husband.  He always assumed he had only been out for a few hours or a day at most, not days.

"We'll let you talk."  Uhura patted his arm before disappearing.

Bones sighed.  

"When we finally managed to beam you out, you had basically gone into cardiac arrest Jim.  We... we thought we had lost you."

Bones sounded so broken.  It suddenly made sense considering their conversation the previous night.  "Bones, why didn't you tell me?"

Bones shrugged.  "Didn't matter afterwards.  We saved you.  We'll always save you. I'll always save you."

 _But it did matter… it really did especially now._  

Just as Jim was about to protest, Bones stepped closer and wrapped his arms around Jim's shoulders.   Jo’s tiny body cushioned between them.  “We’ll talk later,” he muttered. 

Jo let out an indignant squeak.  Bones laughed as he pulled away.  “Did you want to tell Daddy something?”  He asked the little girl.

It seemed like they were having a silent conversation.  Just as Jim was about to speak, she pulled out her finger from her mouth before twisting her torso towards him.  Jim smiled back at her.

"Dada!"

"Jo?" Jim's eyes widened.  He felt them become misty, and he knew without having to look that Bones’ was fairing no better than him.

"Dada," she said again, clear as a bell. She beamed at him.

"Jo," Jim muttered.  He pulled her into a tight hug and pressed kiss to the top of Jo's forehead before looking up at Bones.  He seemed oddly relieved.  “Bones?”

He shifted on the balls of his feet.  “I did not know that was goin' work actually.  She’s one stubborn little girl.”

Jim blinked, confused by Bones’ sentiments.

Instead of answering, Bones captured his lips with a kiss.

“Dada!”  Jo squeaked again causing both her parents to laugh.

“I think we got a talker,” Jim said bemusedly.

Bones laughed before kissing him again.  This time when he pulled away, he muttered "Merry Christmas, darlin'," into Jim’s ear.

"Chris... Christmas..." Jim sputtered out, his eyes widening.  Suddenly everything made sense.  “You…”

Bones smiled.  His hazel eyes twinkling with the Christmas tree lights in the back drop.  “Come on Jim.  Let’s join in the celebration.  Crew really outdid themselves.”

“Yeah, yeah they did.”  As Bones proceeded to take a step, Jim pulled him back.  Bones cocked his head, that smile still on his face. 

“Thank you, and... Merry Christmas.”

 

 _Fin_     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lastly, if anyone has any prompts or ideas for a fic in this verse I'll try to fill it. Just drop me a comment here or in any of the fics in this series. I have a few more storylines planned for this verse but the more the merrier!


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